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October 30, 2018 · 6:50 am

HARVEST COTTAGE PIE: MACRO COOKERY

Carol and her family were in San Diego this weekend, so there was no Sunday family dinner. They had gone to watch the Notre Dame/Navy game. (ND won by a substantial score to remain undefeated.) Carol’s husband is a Notre Dame alum as are his father – and his brothers – and his sister. And they are all devoted sports fans. Carol’s husband goes to South Bend for football whenever he can, and the whole family often comes to LA when Notre Dame is playing nearby, usually against USC. The pilgrimage left us by ourselves, and so I thought Sunday would be a good time to clean out the refrigerator. There was a sweet potato that needed to be used. (It had tiny leaves appearing.) There was a potato that also needed to be used, along with a package of ground beef that I had bought the day before without a clear idea for it. The days have gotten cooler, so something like cottage pie sounded good. Why not top it with sweet potato mash instead of/along with the usual mashed potatoes? Done.

The other thing to while away my time was a new toy. I had bought a Xenvo lens set from Amazon. The lenses clip onto your cell phone to augment the built-in lens. The wide-angle lens does not really do much as my iPhone lens is already wide angle with a large depth of field. The macro, on the other hand, is great. It has only a single focus point, so it is not as versatile as the macro lens on my DSLR, but it is still fun to see what really-close-up images you can make. I am afraid that this post will wind up being a series of macro images of ingredients. Even at that, I hope you enjoy them.

Cubed potato

Microplane

Chopped onion

Ground beef

Garlic press

Pressed garlic

Sliced mushrooms

Sliced carrots

Assembled harvest cottage pie

Baked harvest cottage pie

Served harvest cottage pie

RECIPE

Harvest Cottage Pie

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter* (You will need 8 tablespoons – one stick – in all)
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 large russet potato, peeled and cubed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter*
¼ cup whole milk
1 egg
salt to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ medium yellow onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef
3 tablespoons flour
½ cup beef stock
¼ teaspoon ground thyme
salt and pepper to taste
3 medium cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 carrot sliced thinly with a vegetable peeler (alternatively grate)
2 tablespoons melted butter for topping*

Method

In a small stockpot, cover the sweet potato in salted water and bring to the boil. Boil gently for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a kitchen fork. Drain. Force through a potato ricer or mash. Stir in the butter until it is completely melted. Add the Parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Set aside for final assembly.
In a small stockpot, cover the cubed russet potato in salted water and bring to the boil. Boil gently for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a kitchen fork. Drain. Force through a potato ricer or mash. Stir in the butter until it is completely melted. Then stir in the milk and egg until they are completely incorporated. Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste. You can substitute black pepper but it will leave black specks in the mash. Set aside for final assembly.
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions and stir until they are completely wilted but not browned. Add the ground beef and stir occasionally until the meat is completely browned. Stir in the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the stock and stir until thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Add the thyme and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
Assemble the cottage pie by transferring the meat mixture to a well-greased oven-proof dish large enough to hold all of the ingredients. Layer the mushrooms and carrots on the top of the meat. Then alternate large spoonsful of sweet potato and potato mash on the top. Using a pastry brush, baste the top with melted butter. Bake in the middle of a preheated 350° oven for one hour.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve.

Cook’s note: The carrot slices, although attractive, turned out to be a little hard to eat. Coarsely grated carrot may be better. Actually it may be even better to leave out the carrot as it has sweetness and flavor that compete with the sweet potato.

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Filed under Food, Photography, Recipes

Tagged as carrot, Garlic, harvest cottage pie, macro photography, microplane, mushroom, onion, potato, sweet potato, Xenvo

July 1, 2013 · 8:34 am

COLE SLAW – MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE CRAWFISH BOIL

A week or so ago my post provided the details of a crawfish boil in Silicon Valley. For that great event, my daughter-in-law asked me to make coleslaw. I call her the “Salad Queen” because she whips up the most delicious salads on a moment’s notice, but she claimed that coleslaw was not something she liked to make. I confess that I’m not a big fan of most coleslaw, either. That’s because they often contain the core of the cabbage head, the cabbage is in big chunks with the heavy taste of cabbage, and the salad is swimming in runny mayonnaise.

Years ago I learned the first important lesson for coleslaw from my younger daughter when she was only about ten years old. She was assigned to do the cabbage chopping for a family gathering. We thought she would be finished in just a few minutes, but a half hour later she was still chopping and the cabbage was as fine as I had ever seen it. She had also removed the core of the cabbage before she started the project. Everyone loved one of her first cooking projects.

The second lesson comes from a consideration of the origins of the word, coleslaw. It is derived from the Danish word, koolsla, meaning cabbage (cole) salad ( sla, a contraction of salade). The point of all that is you can use any kind of cabbage or even cabbage relatives you want (especially shredded Brussels sprouts, but also broccoli, rabe, or cauliflower) , and you can put anything else that catches your fancy in the salad. Apples, carrots, celery, and chopped nuts are among the most common additives.

The third lesson for me is that a little mayonnaise goes a long way – much farther than you think. In recent times, I always add less mayonnaise than I think the dish needs. That includes tuna salad, sandwiches, and coleslaw In every instance what I have learned is that less is better, and you can always add more. Of course, homemade mayonnaise is better than bottled, and it doesn’t take too much extra time to make. Another option is not to use mayonnaise at all; freshly made vinaigrette is a refreshing substitute.

For the crawfish boil, I decided to use napa (Chinese) cabbage and red cabbage along with red onion, carrot, bell pepper, and celery for the basic salad. I used vinaigrette with a shot of sesame oil for the dressing. Here is the recipe.

RECIPE

Coleslaw

Ingredients

1 large head, napa cabbage, cored, sliced and chopped very finely
1 small head red cabbage, cored, sliced and chopped very finely
1 medium red onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled, grated, and chopped finely
1 bell pepper, seeded, ribs removed, and diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 teaspoons celery seed
salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients

Vinaigrette

Ingredients

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon prepared mustard, preferably Dijon
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, mustard, garlic powder, and sugar.
While whisking continuously, drizzle in the olive oil until completely incorporated.
Stir in the sesame oil, and correct seasonings with salt and pepper

Dressing the Salad

Pour only about half of the vinaigrette onto the coleslaw and gently stir in until the salad is completely dressed
Add more dressing as needed, being especially careful not to use too much. The coleslaw should be moistened but not damp with dressing
Refrigerate until ready to serve.